By the third day of travel, Michael was getting a much better idea of what Swandia was like. There were wide plains, much like in Svict, but they were less rocky and craggy and were instead covered primarily in an emerald green grass that often gave way to large patches of wildflowers or thick collections of thornbushes. There were small forests, but nothing as thick as those of Stent and large rivers frequently criss-crossed their path, many filled with men and women travelling by boat or ferry. It reminded him of a dreadful trip he’d taken with his wife and daughter down the Mississippi river that had involved the worst food poisoning of his life. That had been a shame, they’d all really loved the catfish.

“You alright, mate?” asked Ollie, knocking on his pauldron with a closed fist.

“I’m fine, just thinking of my old life, as one does.”

“You know, I don’t do that much actually.”

“Really?” aske Michael.

“I don’t think the rest of us left quite as much behind as you did. I got some friends I’m missing, who’re probably getting drunk about me being gone, but no real family or wife.”

“Really?” asked Michael. “I’m surprised.”

Ollie frowned. “Come on mate, you’re supposed to say ‘that doesn’t surprise me’ or ‘you had friends?’, that sincerity shit always throws me off.”

Michael shrugged. “I know we joke, but you’re a personable guy. I thought you’d have at least had a serious girlfriend.”

“Well, I’d had a few,” he said with a smile and wink. “But not when I died.”

“So what are you thinking about if not wistfully wondering what the people from your old life are up to?”

“Magic, food, women, shelter, what kind of life I can build here, if Marcus has more money tucked away then the rest of us realize.”

“Oh, I wonder about that last one too. Probably, right?” asked Michael.

Ollie nodded. “Almost definitely. Probably has it all hidden up his ass.”

“That and a spare rifle I’d guess.”

They shared a laugh.

“You know awareness is my highest boon right?” asked Marcus looking at them over his shoulder.

“Shit some gold about it,” replied Ollie, still laughing.

“If only I could. I would’ve just moved into a room at the Velvet Embrace and never left.”

“Now that’s a way to spend a second life,” said Pyotr. “I’d still need some kind of challenge though. Perhaps I could teach some whores ballet.”

Davi shook his head. “I really missed out, huh?”

“Nah, you were just focused on quality over quantity,” said Ollie. “Franny was quite a piece.”

Davi nodded. “That’s true...if you ever meet her again don't call her Franny.”

Devahn laughed up ahead with Lys.

“I think they’re going to fit in well with the others, eh?”

“Sadly I think they’ll integrate perfectly. I was hoping I might be bringing in an elevating element.” She shrugged. “Oh well. At least they seem good at fighting.”

Toward the afternoon on the third day, a city came into view, the first one Michael had seen since he arrived in this new world. It was built with a large river running up its center and dozens of low one to two story buildings that reminded him of the Tudor style houses in his old neighborhood. The foot traffic grew heavier and soon they found themselves dodging large merchant wagons, carriages carrying important officials, and dozens of random pedestrians just going about their business. They drew a fair number of stares as they walked, but Michael felt that had more to do with the size of Devahn than their armor since they saw a number of others walking around.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

As they passed through the market square a woman with short cut black hair wearing heavily layered green cloth armor with a long stave bouncing off her hip waved in their direction with a hand absolutely covered in rings and bracelets.

“Devahn, Lys you’re back!” she said enthusiastically as she approached. She embraced Lys who awkwardly returned the gesture, and then Devahn who returned it more organically.

“Are these the new recruits?” she asked as she looked them over.

“Yes,” said Lys. “We only just arrived with them and were heading to the manor with them now.”

“The manor?” asked Davi.

“It’s an old house that used to be a nobleman’s. The mayor agreed to rent it to us while we’re working here. It’s cheaper than trying to rent at a dozen different inns and camping outside the city always makes people nervous.

Michael nodded. From what he’d heard from Lys there were roughly sixty members of Gemini, but it sometimes went as high as eighty or as low as forty. People who choose to work as mercenaries could be flighty, which didn’t surprise him.

“Are there a lot of women in Gemini?” asked Michael.

“More than most companies. Maybe a third are women.”

“Mostly mages?” asked Ollie.

“There are a few like Clara here, and there is a young diviner we just recruited before you all as well, but most of them are fighters,” answered Devahn. “There are some women that get strong enough titles and deeds that they become almost as good of fighters as men.”

“I could kick your ass up and down the street if I wanted to,” said Lys, cutting off the one sided conversation that was flowing toward her from Clara.

“Eh, maybe in your youth.”

“And maybe you could make that claim if you were at your fighting weight.”

Devahn frowned. “You wound me.”

“You’d know if I’d wounded you, dear.”

Michael smiled. The easy banter between them boded well for the disposition of Gemini. It seemed to him that after the long hard road they’d been walking since they got there, they were moving on to a situation that was at least socially easier on them.

They eventually reached a part of the city where the road was a bit more worn down, and the houses had seemingly mostly been converted to inns, shops, or brothels. At the very end of the road was a large dilapidated manor that seemed to be held together by planks and a lot of hope.

“Eh, I’ve lived in worse,” said Ollie.

“I believe that,” replied Michael.

There were a number of men and women milling about the yard. Some of them were training, others having a smoke, and a few were even drinking and shooting the shit. There was a kind of laid back feel to it that made Michael a bit uncomfortable, as he’d gotten so used to the formality in Stent, but when he looked at the others only Davi shared his concerned expression.

Devahn and Clara split off from them as they went inside and started heading deeper into the manor. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration or furniture, but he could see that a number of people had set up their tents in a large ballroom or staked their claim on rooms by crudely carving their names into the door. Michael had a feeling they wouldn’t be getting their deposit back.

In the far back there was the sound of whetstone sliding across a blade and light conversation that sounded vaguely familiar.

Lys pushed open the door and two young men, looking to be in their early to mid thirties looked up at them. They were, as Michael had anticipated, twins. One had dark brown hair and the other had shaved his head bald, but they shared the same angular features and gray eyes. One of them was wearing a kind of loose hanging robe and pants with his chest exposed and showing impressive musculature, and the other was in a more conservative black pair of pants and oatmeal colored shirt.

“Tai, Finnegan, I’d like to present you with your new recruits.”

The bald one with the exposed chest stood up and smiled. “Welcome back Lys, looks like you absolutely killed it.”

The more conservatively dressed one sighed. “I think you may have ‘killed it’ a bit too much Lys. We were only looking for one diviner and I’m fairly certain I see more than one man with you.”

“Well I didn’t think you’d mind adding a mage, dragoon, and two knights to that number. Particularly takers.”

“Takers! Fuck yeah!” said the bald one moving closer to them. He was only about five foot nine, but he had a surprising presence to him, as if he took up more space than he actually occupied.

“Can one of you tell me how Sopranos ended? Jim, the last taker we recruited, said he didn’t watch it. Can you believe that shit?”

“I uh, don’t think you’ll be very happy with the answer to that question,” said Michael with a frown.

The twin sucked in some air between his teeth. “That bad, huh? Maybe I’ll ask again after I’ve had something to drink.”

“How expensive are they going to be?” asked the other twin, looking toward Lys.

“They’re going to be worth it, Finn. The diviner alone is a healer and has already closed rifts in the past.”

“Come on little brother, you should know to trust Lys with this kind of thing by now.”

“I was born before you.”

“Only in this world.”